The Innocence of Rabbits
by SwitzDandelion
Summary: "For some reason, as soon as his eyes landed on a net sticking out of the leaves, he found himself lunging towards Merlin." Tag to 5x1; Arthur reflects on his 'misguided' subconscious while caught in a net.


**A/N: As the description says, this is just a short tag to Arthur's Bane when they get caught in the net. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I most certainly do not own Merlin.**

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"Rabbits?"

The bemused voice made Arthur internally sigh as his manservant pushed past him to inspect the find. Hard to believe though it was, Merlin could be even more annoying than usual when he was hungry. Here they were, traveling on foot out in the open (with Morgana tracking them no less), and all Merlin could worry about was food. Anything Arthur said, Merlin found a way to relate it back to roasted pigs and apple pies, making it impossible to think seriously about anything.

(Not to mention that it was making Arthur feel a little hungry himself.)

Therefore it came as no surprise that when they found a pair of furry lumps lying in the middle of their path rather neatly, Merlin immediately made a beeline towards them to investigate. Arthur, half exasperated, didn't bother and instead hung back. After all, it was rather odd that some clean fresh rabbits would just happen to be lying on the ground together. Especially since the two men were barely even on a trail, merely following some sort of animal path, trying to avoid the normal roads.

In fact, the rabbits looked as though they had been rather carefully placed next to each other. As Merlin crouched down for a closer look, Arthur happened to glance up and notice the large, gnarly tree on the side of the path. One which had something on the trunk. Something that looked suspiciously like a rope…

It was a lucky thing that Arthur had been training his reflexes since he was a boy, or else he never would've reacted in time. However, he recalled his training involving something more along the lines of 'back away' when confronted with a trap. And for some reason, as soon as his eyes landed on the edge of a net sticking out of the leaves, he found himself already lunging forward towards Merlin, trying to push him out of the way.

Obviously this was a stupid idea, as the net immediately sprung and pulled them both into the air, immobilizing them. Whether Arthur was the one who set it off or he just ran forward in time to be caught as well, he could not understand how that had happened. Everything he'd ever learned, every instinct he had, should have told him to just throw himself back the way he came, getting himself out of range of any possible traps. And he had known this all along, had felt those instincts rising in him; yet he had done the exact opposite, running forward into the heart of it. He hadn't even had time to think, so the question was… why?

Sadly, it was obvious why. Because Merlin had obliviously waltzed right up to the bait and poked at it, and apparently Arthur's instincts for safety had been outweighed by his instinct to protect Merlin.

Maybe it was from the time Merlin had pulled him out of the way of a dagger. Or even the time he drank poison for him. He knew how far Merlin would go to save him, and he had automatically tried to do the same in return. A sense of guilt, or debt, perhaps. Which was stupid, since he could have helped Merlin a lot more by being free of the net and having a sword somewhere he could actually reach it. Then he could have saved his pride (which was embarrassed from being smothered in a net), cut Merlin loose, reprimanded him for being an idiot as usual, and they could have continued on their way, probably with Merlin continuing to complain like a child. But no, in that split second of realization and reaction, his instincts of loyalty had won out over rationality, and he had nobly (and stupidly) thrown himself at Merlin to try to move him out of the way. If only Merlin wasn't so damn loyal and self-sacrificing all the time, then he wouldn't have rubbed off on Arthur like this!

Unless, the king thought grudgingly to himself, his first reaction had been to save Merlin because he cared about the man. Because Arthur considered him to be a dear friend, and he (subconsciously) cared about protecting the servant as much as his own protection...

"I got them!"

No, Arthur decided, struggling to turn his head enough to glare at Merlin. It definitely wasn't the friend thing.


End file.
